Anchor charts are a great way to make thinking visible as you record strategies, processes, cues, guidelines and other content during the learning process. Here are 25 of our favorite anchor charts for teaching writing.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

I remember seeing the young writers in my classroom glancing up at the wall charts as they worked. Anchor Charts are a great tool. See this site for inspiration and ideas.

In an age where our children swipe, pinch and tap on smartphones and tablets from birth, is the “hand” in “handwriting” about to be removed forever? And are there any benefits to good old-fashioned pen and paper: artistic posterity, cognitive benefits, or something else?

Quest lets you make interactive story games. Text adventure games like Zork and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Gamebooks like the Choose Your Own Adventure and Fighting Fantasy books. You don't need to know how to program. All you need is a story to tell. Your game can be played anywhere. In a web browser, downloaded to a PC, or turned into an app. Get started now for free, or find out more below.

Who doesn’t love a colorful word cloud? But what I don’t love is the time it takes to input all of the words to create one. My motto is that students should do the work in our classroom, not me. Well, I work a little, but I don’t want to do the lion’s share of the work. The person doing the work is doing the learning, so my students do the heavy lifting in our classroom. That’s why I was so excited when I discovered Mentimeter!

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

Here's a clever idea for a blended classroom. It's a dynamic way to get students working together online in realtime.

"...we are thrilled to announce the new Educating for Democracy Deep Dive developed by the Teaching Channel and the Civic Engagement Research Group at the University of California, Riverside. The Deep Dive is a curated collection of videos accompanied by educational resources, blogs, and articles related to preparing youth for civic and political life in the digital age. It provides educators with the opportunity to see key aspects of civic learning and digital media learning in action. It also provides avenues for educators and their students to explore the ways in which our civic, political, and digital lives are inextricably linked in the 21st century.

"For example, there are videos and resources that highlight various ways educators can integrate civic learning in line with the following essential questions:

-INVESTIGATION & RESEARCH: How do I help students research issues that matter to them?-CIVIC KNOWLEDGE: How do I help further students’ civic knowledge and understanding?-DISCUSSION: How do I help students have productive discussions about current and controversial issues?-VOICE: How can students voice their perspective on issues that matter to them?-ACTION: What are effective ways to take action in the digital age?-LEARN MORE: Where can I learn more and find resources?"

This conversation with George Ella Lyon and Julie Landsman, hosts of the I Am From Project, is about countering divisions of race, culture, and background through poetry, artwork, videos, music, and dance.

We begin with Voice, because more than any other trait, it seems to intimidate or confuse teachers and parents. Voice: What is it? Can it be taught? How do we explain Voice to the parent who says, "I never had it when I was in school!"? to edit the content

How many times have you reviewed beginning of the year essays and felt frustration and rising panic as you see page after page of scribbled words with no paragraphs, no titles, and only the most rudimentary sense of sentence structure? Where do you begin? Unschooled student writing can be overwhelming and daunting to the most experienced teacher. However, if you understand the 6+1 Traits TM system, you will know what to do and how to go about it.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

Here's an in-depth lesson planning resource to help you teach the trait of organization.

Few sources available today offer writing teachers such succinct, practice-based help—which is one reason why 30 Ideas for Teaching Writing was the winner of the Association of Education Publishers 2005 Distinguished Achievement Award for Instructional Materials.

Dennis T OConnor's insight:

Great writing teacher advice from Writing Projects around the country. Don't miss this!

This national project uncovers the patterns that bind us, no matter where we came from or how long we’ve been here. Explore stories from across the country, upload the story of an object that carries meaning in your family, and join us in telling the story of American immigration and migration.

Writing isn't that hard. We can all do it, one word after next, little baby steps until a whole thought is complete. Writing so people will care is pretty darn difficult though, especially in an age where we are constantly besieged by words and ideas on email, social media and whatever news sources are best at forcing themselves in front of our eyes.

Still, the need is there. In fact, there has perhaps not been a more important time for educators to share their stories.

I've been writing about teaching heavily for the last five years, and I've learned things. I've learned the things that have been the difference between having a few people read a piece and a few hundred thousand. I've learned about the honest desire from many to hear directly from teachers as well as the desire of some to use teacher voices for their own needs.

I've learned about haters, and I've learned how amazing it is to hear how you've impacted or supported a colleague you've never met before.

So, then, here are some quick lessons to think about when you are ready to share your stories and ideas more broadly, whether you are thinking of submitting to a website, starting your own blog, or sending in a letter to the editor. Let me know when they're done; I'd love to read and share them.

LISTEN, WRITE AND READ Sentences for Sight Word Dictation is a collection of the specific sentences I used for this instruction, arranged by grade level. A series of five activity books provide students with an illustration of each sentence. The illustrations were designed to have universal appeal to students of all ages. The illustrated sentences have been translated into Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Modern Standard Arabic, and Russian.

Whether you are working on an academic paper like an essay, a dissertation or any other form of writing, editing is a sure way to polish your work. Mistakes in writing are inevitable. Professional writers usually edit their work as many times as possible. It goes without saying that editing is beyond checking for grammar or punctuation errors in writing. It involves rewriting and restructuring a written piece. Many people assume that editing is a daunting task which is untrue. Here are 5 effective steps for editing your own writing.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.